WO2002065971A1

WO2002065971A1 - Seat shell with adjustable support elements

Info

Publication number: WO2002065971A1
Application number: PCT/EP2002/001744
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael Markwald
Original assignee: Interco Gesellschaft Für Die Planung Und Den Vertrieb Von Reha Hilfen Mbh
Priority date: 2001-02-21
Filing date: 2002-02-19
Publication date: 2002-08-29
Also published as: EP1361844A1; US20040084950A1; DE10108311A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a seat shell which is especially designed to be mounted on the chassis of a wheel chair or a stroller, and that comprises adjustable support elements (34) for supporting the person seated in said seat shell. The aim of the invention is to provide a seat shell with which the position of the seated person on the seat can be fixed by easily adjustable and reliably fixable support elements. To this end, the support elements (34) are disposed above the two lateral edges of the seat (2) and their distance to each other in the transverse direction of the seat (2) is adjustable.

Description

Description:

Seat shell with adjustable support elements

The invention relates to a seat shell, which is particularly intended for attachment to the chassis of a wheelchair or pram, with a seat and a backrest and adjustable support elements for supporting the person accommodated in the seat shell.

A large number of seat shells, which are either fixedly or detachably connected to a chassis of a wheelchair, are known from the prior art. Some have adjustable armrests, for example, as adjustable support elements.

For example, US Pat. No. 4,039,223 shows a wheelchair in which the footrest and the backrest can be locked in different pivoting positions with respect to the seat surface.

The applicant's EP 0 911 008 A2 shows a seat shell in which the backrest and the footrest are pivoted freely on the seat surface. The backrest is also supported against a vertical portion of the wheelchair frame. The seat is articulated on a sliding guide, which on the one hand enables the seat to be moved forward and, on the other hand, allows the seat to be swung up. A tensioning device pulls the seat back into its flat position, which rests on the wheelchair frame, with the backrest in the angled sitting position relative to the seat. Another tensioning device pre-tensions the footrest over its entire pivoting area in relation to the seat surface in such a way that it is also pivoted into the angled position. The mobile seat arrangement described in this application forms an extremely innovative and advantageous receptacle for physically handicapped patients who suffer from spastic stretching cramps. In such patients, spastic muscle spasms lead to uncontrolled stretching movements. Before the subject of the European patent application mentioned, these stretching movements were absorbed by rigid wheelchairs. The described in the European patent application mentioned bene device enables the components of the wheelchair to follow the stretching movements in a controlled manner with the application of an elastic restoring force. The swivel axes of the components of this seat shell are arranged in the physiologically optimal pivot points, ie the backrest is rotatably articulated on the seat surface in the area of the hip joint and the footrest is rotatably articulated on the seat area in the area of the knee joint.

Finally, another seat shell for attachment to the chassis of a wheelchair is known from DE 199 30 103 Cl. This seat shell has taken over the swiveling connection between the backrest and the footrests attached to the chassis of the wheelchair in the present case. In addition, it has Torax pads, i.e. Support cushions for the chest, which are attached to the backrest so that they can be swiveled across. These support elements can be adjusted by muscle strength and thus offer the person being picked up only a slight hold. In addition, they only fix the person picked up on the backrest, but not on the seat shell.

The object of the invention is to provide a seat shell on which the position of the person taken on the seat is fixed by easily adjustable and securely lockable support elements.

This object is achieved in that the support elements are arranged above the two lateral edges of the seat surface and their distance from one another is adjustable in the transverse direction of the seat surface.

By means of the support elements which can be adjusted and locked in the transverse direction of the seat surface, lateral support of the buttocks and thighs of the person taken can be achieved, which is optimally adjusted to the size of the person taken. So it is possible to produce a single wheelchair that can be optimally adjusted to the width of the person being accommodated.

The exact lateral support of the person being taken is particularly necessary for wheelchairs for patients suffering from spastic cramps. Spastic patients suffer uncontrollable at irregular intervals

Muscle contractions that - as described above - lead to a body stretch to lead. The close seat in the upholstered seat shell ensures that soft contact elements counteract the cramp-like movements and that the person taken does not hit a hard part with a body part. As with wheelchairs known from the prior art, all contact surfaces of the backrest and the seat surface and the support elements on the side facing the body of the person being taken up are of course provided with upholstery.

The adjustable support elements according to the invention, also called adduction guidance or adduction pad, ensure secure lateral guidance. The wheelchair according to the invention is particularly advantageous, in particular for children with spastic disabilities, since it can be adjusted to the increasing size as the children grow.

The support elements are preferably pivotally attached to each longitudinal edge of the seat. This can result in a particularly simple adjustability. In particular, the ver pivotable attachment also enables the inclination of the support elements with respect to the vertical plane. In this way, trapezoidal spaces can be enclosed by the two opposite support elements, which expand downwards. In this way, the buttocks and thighs of the person taken are held by the support elements against lifting off the seat.

At least one support arm, which carries the support element, is articulated on each longitudinal edge of the seat surface. Two support arms are preferably used to fasten each support element.

In a special embodiment of the seat cuff according to the invention, each longitudinal edge of the seat surface has a longitudinal bore in which a threaded rod is arranged, which carries a head at its front end for the positive engagement of a screwing tool and which exerts a clamping force on the support arm when screwing tight. This type of fastening enables the swivel position of the support arm to be fixed particularly easily. It is only necessary to loosen the threaded rod with the screwing tool, adjust the swivel position and the threaded rod again be tightened. The screw head of the threaded rod is preferably arranged on the front face of the seat shell.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the seat shell, each longitudinal bore is arranged within an extruded profile on the side edge of the seat surface. Known aluminum extrusion profiles with a central longitudinal bore, which are produced in large quantities, for example for window construction or for the construction of portable frames, can provide a reliable receptacle for the fastening elements of the support elements on both sides of the seat shell. The aluminum extrusion profiles can be connected in any way with a metal plate that forms the seat. For example, a welded connection or a screw connection is suitable for fastening these profiles.

The threaded rod preferably exerts a clamping force on two mutually parallel support arms, which together hold a support element. The two support arms can attach the support element to the seat with sufficient stability to counteract the muscle forces generated by spastic stretching cramps. In addition, the two support arms should be fastened parallel to one another on a common connecting sleeve. The connecting sleeve can also be received in the longitudinal bore on the longitudinal edge of the seat surface, the threaded rod extending within the connecting sleeve. This creates a compact and easy-to-use fastening device for the support element.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned inclination of the support element with respect to the vertical plane, which can be adjusted in a certain adjustment range, the support element should be pivotably attached to the support arm. The two mutually opposite support elements can then be arranged either parallel to one another and vertically or inclined to one another.

An advantageously simple and stable construction of the support element results if it has a metal sheet and a cushion, an angled area of the metal sheet forming the receptacle for the pivot axis of the support element. The support arm should have a slot into which the folded area of the metal sheet is inserted, the support arm and the bent area of the metal sheet is jointly penetrated by a clamping screw, which forms the pivot axis of the support element and generates a clamping force which locks the support arms on the metal sheet. This creates a fastening device similar to that on the longitudinal edge of the seat surface to which the lower ends of the support arms are articulated. Again, the screw head of the clamping screw should be arranged on the front of the seat shell and thus somewhat above the screw heads of the threaded rods. Thus, the distance of a support element from the longitudinal center of the seat surface can first be set and locked by the lower screw head of the threaded rod. The inclination of the support element can then be adjusted using the upper screw head of the clamping screw.

If two support arms are used to fasten a support element, the tensioning screw should simultaneously protrude through the two support arms and bent areas of the metal sheet of the support element, which are clamped in slots by these support arms.

The invention is explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings using exemplary embodiments which show a seat shell with multiple adjustment options. The drawings show in:

1 is a side view of a seat shell according to the invention on the chassis of a wheelchair,

2 shows a side view of part of an alternative connecting device which connects the backrest to the seat surface of the seat shell, FIG. 3 shows a side view of the wheelchair from FIG. 1 with the backrest and seat surface pivoted, FIG.

Fig. 4 is a side view of part of one of the embodiment

1 corresponding wheelchair with an alternative connecting device, FIG. 5 a representation of an extruded profile and a connecting element cut along the section line VV from FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along section line VI-VI of a double strut supporting the vertical frame of the chassis,

7 is a partially sectioned side view of the double strut from FIG. 6,

8 is a front view of pivotable side support cushions attached to the seat,

9 is an enlarged view of a support arm for the support cushion of FIG. 8,

10 is a side view of the support pillow from FIG. 8 with the fastening device cut, FIG.

FIG. 11 shows a representation of the support surface cut along the section line XI-XI from FIG. 10.

The seat shell shown in Fig. 1 consists essentially of a backrest 1, a seat surface 2 and a footrest 3. Backrest 1 and seat surface 2 are shown in Fig. 1 without the protective textile cover from which they are usually enveloped. Before use by a patient, the support surfaces for the body parts are provided with cushion pads and covered with the protective cover. This ensures a soft contact of the person accommodated in the seat shell with the surface of the seat shell. To increase clarity, the upholstery and protective covers are largely omitted in the drawings.

Both the backrest 1 and the seat surface 2 have profiles 4 running on their two side edges. These are extruded aluminum profiles 4, the cross section of which can be seen in particular in FIG. 5. Fig. 8 shows that on each side of the seat 2, a longitudinal profile 4 is attached. The backrest 1 also has a profile 4 on each of its sides.

5 and 9 it can be seen that the profiles 4 have a substantially square cross section. A groove 5 is arranged on each side of the profile 4. Each groove 5 has side undercuts 6, so that either screw heads or movable sliding blocks can be inserted into the groove 5 in a form-fitting manner. In the middle, the profile 4 has a longitudinal bore 7. Fig. 1 shows the preferred embodiment in which the seat 2 and the backrest 1 are pivotally connected to each other. A first support plate 12 is fastened in the longitudinal groove 5 on the profile 4 on the side of the backrest 1 by means of clamping screws 9. The screw head 10 (see FIG. 5) of the clamping screw 9 is positively received in the groove 5. A cap nut 11 is screwed onto the thread of the clamping screw 9. In the same way, the second support plate 8 is attached to the profile 4 on the side of the seat 2.

The support plates 8 and 12 are pivotally connected to each other with a hinge pin 13. On the other side of the seat arrangement, which is not visible in FIG. 1, a corresponding connection arrangement is fastened to the profiles 4 of the backrest 1 and the seat surface 2 located there.

The underside of the seat surface 2 is held on the chassis 15 of a wheelchair which is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the seat shell 2 and which has a large rear wheel 47 and a steerable front wheel 48 on both sides. In addition, the seat surface 2 is pivotally articulated on the carriage 14. On the two side profiles 4 of the backrest 1, articulated holding elements 16 are also fastened in the upper third, which pivotally connect the backrest 1 to the vertical frame 18 of the chassis 15 about a hinge pin 17.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the event of a stretching movement of a person accommodated in the seat shell, the backrest 1 is pivoted rearward with respect to the seat surface 2 and moves about the hinge pin 17 of the holding element 16. Since the backrest 1 is vertical through the holding element 16 Frame 18 of the chassis 15 is attached, the seat 2 must be moved forward and swivel upward, which is made possible by the carriage 14 to which the seat 2 is articulated.

The hinge pin 13, which enables the backrest 1 to be pivoted toward the seat surface 2, is located exactly at the level of the hip joint due to the preferably used support plates 8, 12. With a growing person, the position of the hinge pin 13 can be continuously adjusted are, since the clamping screws 9, which hold the support plates 8, 12, are received in elongated holes 19, 20 of the support plates 8, 12, which extend transversely to the grooves 5 in the profiles 4.

The same applies to the footrest 3, which is supported by lateral support plates 21 which are fastened in the longitudinal groove 5 on both sides of the seat surface 2. The lateral support plates 21 are connected to support elements 23 of the footrest 3 by means of pivot pins 22. Here, too, the position of the hinge pin 22 can be adjusted, on the one hand, by moving the clamping screws 9 along the groove 5 and, on the other hand, by moving the elongated holes 24 through which the clamping screws 9 pass.

4 shows an alternative embodiment of the support plates 8 ', 12' and 21 ', in which, instead of elongated holes, a plurality of individual bores arranged next to one another are arranged in rows 49 of bores. This design also makes it possible to adjust the fastening of the support plates 8 ', 12' and 21 'to the profiles 4 transversely to their grooves 5. The side support cushions 50 on the backrest 1 which can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 4 are so-called trunk supports which support the upper body of the patient accommodated in the wheelchair.

The tension springs 25 and 26 can be seen schematically in FIGS. 1 and 3. The tension spring 25 pulls the slide 14 backwards, so that the seat surface 2 is backwards and the backrest 1 is biased into the vertical, upright position. This pretensioning force acts over the entire swivel range between the backrest 1 and the seat surface 2, as well as over the entire displacement path of the seat surface 2. The tension spring 26 pulls the footrest 3 into the angled position with respect to the seat surface 2, and also over the entire pivoting range of the footrest 3.

If he inventive fixation device for rigid attachment of a backrest 1 to a seat 2 is to be formed, a single rigid support plate 27 can be attached to the grooves 5 of the profiles 4 on each side of the seat 2 via clamping screws 9 (see Fig. 2) ,

Fastening elements can also be inserted into the longitudinal bores 7 of the profiles 4. For example, in Fig. 1 it can be seen that the upper section the longitudinal bores 7 of the vertical profiles 4 on the backrest 1 support struts 28 for an adjustable holding device 29 for a headrest (not shown). Again, on both sides of the backrest 1 there is a support strut 28 in the profile attached there.

Another fastening element for an adjustable lateral support element, which is received in the longitudinal bore of the profile 4, is described below in connection with FIGS. 8 to 11.

6 and 7 first show the adjustability of the chassis 15 of the wheelchair that can be seen in FIG. 1. The vertical frame 18 is adjustable in size in the longitudinal direction of the seat 2. For this reason, the vertical frame 18 has two double struts 31 at its lower ends, each of which can be inserted into a double tube 30 of the chassis 15. Each strut of the double strut 31 is hollow and has at its end a clamping body 32 abutting against an oblique end of the strut 31 via an inclined surface. The clamping bodies 32 can be pulled against the ends of the double struts 31 by means of two tensioning screws 33, so that jamming takes place within the double tube 30 and the vertical frame 18 is locked on the undercarriage 15. As mentioned, there are double tubes 30 of this type on both sides of the seat surface 2, in which a double strut 31 of the vertical frame 18 is received.

8 to 11 show a novel fastening device for adjustable lateral support elements 34. Each support element 34 consists of an angled metal sheet 35 to which a cushion 36 is attached. Each support element 34 is fastened with two support arms 37 to a profile 4 on one side of the seat 2. As can be seen in particular in FIG. 10, a connecting sleeve 38, which is diagonally divided in the middle and runs in each profile 4 within the longitudinal bore 7 with little play, on the two parts of which the two support arms 37 are fastened in a rotationally fixed manner. A threaded rod 40 runs inside the connecting sleeve 38, the threaded front end of which is screwed into a clamping body 39. The outwardly projecting end of the threaded rod 40 carries a screw head 41, which can be positively gripped with a wrench. The screw head is located near the front edge of the seat 2 the footrest 3 (see Fig. 1). By turning the threaded rod 40, the clamping body 39 is moved in the axial direction to the connecting sleeve 38. About the inclined surface of the clamping body 39, this is also moved radially outwards. Likewise, the two connecting sleeves 38 are displaced radially relative to one another via their inclined surface and are jammed within the longitudinal bore 7 in the profile 4 on the seat surface 2. After the threaded rod 40 has been tightened, the support arms 37 are essentially rigidly clamped to the profile 4.

Similarly, the support member 34 can be locked at the upper end of the support arms 37. As shown in FIG. 11, a clamping screw 42 is arranged within spacer sleeves 43, 44. A screw head 45 is in turn arranged at the front end of the clamping screw 42. When the clamping screw 42 is tightened, the bent areas 46 of the metal sheet 35 are clamped in slots 53 within the support arms 37. Both the screw head 45 of the clamping screw 42 and the screw head 41 of the threaded rod 42 are located on the front end face of the support element 34 on the one hand and the profile 4 on the seat surface 2 on the other hand. Each support element 34 can thus be inclined as well as in its position in The transverse direction of the seat 2 can be adjusted as desired.

As can be seen in FIG. 8, the support elements 34 can be adjusted to different body widths over a large adjustment range. The pads 36 of the support elements 34 can also be placed at an angle to one another, so that they surround, for example, a trapezoidally widening space. In this position, the support elements, which are also called adduction guides, give not only a lateral support force, but also a holding force on the hip and legs of the patient accommodated in the wheelchair which prevents them from slipping out upwards.

The extruded profiles 4 are fastened to the backrest 1 and the seat surface 2 in any suitable manner. For example, they can be welded directly to metal plates that form the backrest 1 and the seat surface 2. However, a detachable connection is also possible. FIG. 9 shows, for example, a screw connection in which a connecting screw 51 passes through the metal plate forming the seat surface 2 is screwed into an internal thread of a sliding block 52, which is received in a longitudinal groove of the profile 4. Such screw connections can be arranged at several points along the length of the profile 4.

* * * * * * *

Reference symbol list:

1 backrest

2 seats

5 3 footrest

4 profile

5 groove

6 undercut

7 longitudinal bore

10 8 support plate

9 clamping screw

10 screw head

11 cap nut

12 support plate

15 13 pivot pin

14 sledges

15 chassis

16 holding element

17 hinge pins

20 18 vertical frame

19 slot

20 slot

21 support plate

22 hinge pin

25 23 support element

24 slot

25 tension spring

26 tension spring

27 rigid support plate

30 28 support strut

29 Carrying device for headrest

30 double tube

31 double strut

32 sprags

35 33 tension screw

34 support element

35 sheet metal pad

Beam

connecting sleeve

clamping bodies

threaded rod

screw head

clamping screw

spacers

Screw head bent area

rear wheel

front

row of holes

support cushion

connecting screw

sliding block

slot

Claims

claims:

1. Seat shell, which is provided in particular for attachment to the chassis (15) of a wheelchair or stroller, with a seat surface (2) and a backrest (1) and adjustable support elements (34) for supporting the person accommodated in the seat shell, characterized that the support elements (34) are arranged above the two lateral edges of the seat surface (2) and their distance from one another is adjustable in the transverse direction of the seat surface (2).

2. Seat shell according to claim 1, characterized in that a supporting element (34) is pivotally attached to each longitudinal edge of the seat surface (2).

3. Seat shell according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that on each longitudinal edge of the seat surface (2) at least one support arm (37) is articulated, which carries the support element (34).

4. Seat shell according to claim 3, characterized in that each longitudinal edge of the seat surface (2) has a longitudinal bore (7) in which a threaded rod (40) is arranged, which has a screw head (41) at its front end carries positive engagement of a screwing tool and exerts a clamping force on the support arm (34) when screwing tight.

5. Seat shell according to claim 4, characterized in that each longitudinal bore within an extruded profile (4) on one side edge of the

Seat (2) is arranged.

6. Seat shell according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the threaded rod (40) exerts a clamping force on two mutually parallel support arms (34).

7. Seat shell according to claim 6, characterized in that the two support arms (34) on a common connecting sleeve (38) are fastened parallel to each other.

8. Seat shell according to claim 7, characterized in that the connecting sleeve (38) is received in the longitudinal bore (7) on the longitudinal edge of the seat surface (2).

5 9. Seat shell according to claim 8, characterized in that the threaded rod (40) is arranged within the connecting sleeve (38).

10. Seat shell according to one of claims 3 to 9, characterized in that the support element (34) on the support arm (37) is pivotally mounted.

10

11. Seat shell according to claim 10, characterized in that the support element (34) has a metal sheet (35) and a cushion (36), with a bent area (46) of the metal sheet (36) receiving the pivot axis of the support element (34 ) forms.

15

12. Seat shell according to claim 11, characterized in that the support arm (37) has a slot (53) into which the folded area of the metal sheet (46) is inserted.

20 13. Seat shell according to claim 12, characterized in that the support arm (37) and the folded region (46) of the metal sheet (35) are penetrated by a clamping screw (42) which forms the pivot axis of the support element (34) and one Support arm (37) on the metal sheet (35) locking clamping force generated.

25

14. Seat shell according to claim 13, characterized in that the clamping screw (42) projects through two support arms (37) and folded areas (46) of the metal sheet (35) of the support element (34) at the same time.

30 15. Seat shell according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the clamping screw (42) carries at its front end a screw head (45) for the positive engagement of a screwing tool.